1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to containers designed to carry baked products. More particularly, the invention relates to a container for the transport of heavy, baked flour and corn tortillas, while protecting the same from inadvertent markings and indentations.
2. Background Art
In the baked goods industry, many different types of containers exist that can be used for the transport and conveyance of the baked goods. Generally, these baked goods are light, fluffy, yeast-risen products, that are relatively light in weight, although they can be bulky. With the substantial rise in the United States and other locations of people of Hispanic heritage, tortillas have become much more popular. Tortillas have become so popular that the fast food industry has included them as staple items in their menus, and several restaurant chains now exist wherein the tortilla is the staple bread on the menu.
Unfortunately, conventional containers for conventional baked products are ill-suited to carry flour or corn tortilla baked products. As those of ordinary skill in the art of the present invention can appreciate, flour and corn tortillas are relatively heavy, dense baked goods. They are not yeast risen, so they remain relatively flat and flexible. As such, they can be easily stored (one on top of each other), and are commonly sold in packages that weigh as much as five, six or more pounds per bag. Because they are soft and flexible, flour and corn tortillas are easily susceptible to damage. For example, if the flour or corn tortilla package (which generally is only a thin plastic bag) is placed on an indented or protruding surface, the bottom most tortillas most likely will become damaged, with the mark of the indentation or projection transferred to at least several of the bottom most tortillas. While mostly aesthetically unattractive, if the projections or indentation markings are severe enough, they can affect the usefulness of the tortilla by damaging them, or making them weaker at the point of indentation or projection. Consumers, will tend avoid such damaged products. Conventional baked good containers, therefore, with their open ribbed bottoms, are particularly ill-suited for the transportation and/or storage of flour or corn tortillas. Still further, such containers are typically not nearly strong enough to safely carry all the corn or flour tortillas that can fit within them. Therefore, even if one could avoid the problem of damaging or marking the tortillas, use of the conventional container that are designed to carry much lighter yeast-risen baked goods would be inefficient and therefore costly.
Thus, a need exists for a container capable of carrying baked flour and corn tortillas that has the required weight-carrying capacity and will not harm and/or mark the baked flour and corn tortillas.